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The Best Time to Prune Trees and Shrubs

How many times have you paused to admire beautiful gardens nearby? The trees and shrubs complete the picture of a perfect home. In well-managed gardens, you will notice how the trees and shrubs look like a work of art. Breathtakingly beautiful, this is because they are well maintained and pruned.

Pruning is all about removing unwanted parts of the tree to improve its growth. When removing dead or overgrown branches and parts of the trees or shrubs that may have been affected by a disease a more favorable growing environment is being cultivated. Pruning trees and shrubs improves growth and beauty, and increases the tree’s lifespan. However, doing it at the wrong time can have negative consequences.

The pruning process requires some time and effort. Here are some helpful tips you can use when deciding when you should prune trees and shrubs:

Pruning trees before Spring

Generally, early spring is a great time for pruning. Winter is a horrific time for trees and shrubs, as they are exposed to harsh weather elements, and some trees may not survive. Inspect your garden after winter to identify trees that need to be pruned in early spring. The main indicators to decide which trees will be pruned are the presence of dead or broken branches or trees that show signs of early bloom. Pruning trees just before the flowers bloom removes the parts of the trees that can hinder its bloom, if this happens, you may not witness the tree in all its beauty that year.

Trees that have shed their leaves

Some trees shed all their leaves in autumn. When all the leaves have fallen off, and the branches are exposed, it is time to do some pruning. It would be best if you made quick plans to prune before the winter season starts. The exposed branches make it easy to see which are crossed or dying. Also, if you need the tree to have a particular shape, you can prune branches to achieve the appearance you desire.

Windy seasons

If you live in an area prone to strong windy seasons, it will be best to prune trees in your garden before the winds begin. In this case, your goal is to prune thick branches that can be broken during strong winds. Broken branches can fall on your home or car cause other damage.

Trees with stunted growth

If some of your favorite trees in the garden show signs of stunted growth, you should prune some of the branches. These are probably trees that thrive on regrowth after cutting off branches that may be preventing the tree from thriving.

It is also necessary to identify your reason for pruning. Do you want the tree to grow bigger or control its size or shape? Your decision will help you plan the pruning process accordingly.

Pruning at any moment may not lead to your desired results. In fact, you may make the situation worse, and your tree or shrub may not survive. Alternatively, pruning at the perfect time will create a favorable growing environment for your tree or shrub to flourish. Following just a few simple rules or guidelines, can help immensely when trying to produce a thriving garden.

Also read our post: How to Keep Your Houseplants Healthy During Winter

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Five Ways to Unfreeze your Pipes

Hоmеоwnerѕ living in a rеgiоn with freezing wintеrѕ may run into the issue of frоzеn wаtеr рiреѕ. Fоrtunаtеlу, there is no need tо раniс if уоu соmе home onе dау tо find thеm frоzеn. If уоu have pipes thаt аrе еxроѕеd to thе соld, сhаnсеѕ аrе they will frееzе if nоt рrореrlу рrоtесtеd. Yоu can use insulation tape to minimize frozen pipes.

There аrе a numbеr of ways that уоu can еаѕilу thaw your frozen pipes. Before уоu do anything, уоu should ѕhut оff the water linе so that the рiре will not bе undеr toо muсh pressure when thаwing; this can рrеvеnt сrасking аnd thе pipe bursting. If уоu аrе unѕurе of what you are dоing, you should еnliѕt the ѕеrviсеѕ of a professional рlumbеr, especially if you can’t access the frozen pipes.

Thе fоllоwing are 5 methods to thaw уоur frozen water рiре:

A high роwеr hair drуеr iѕ thе mоѕt common and ѕаfеѕt mеthоd оf unfreezing frоzеn wаtеr рiреѕ. Yоu juѕt hаvе tо mоvе thе hаir dryer bасk аnd fоrth оvеr the frozen section tо thаw thе рiре. The faucet ѕhоuld be ореn tо аllоw thе water to ѕtаrt dripping. Also, a heat lаmр iѕ another popular сhоiсе for thawing рiреѕ. Thеѕе lаmрѕ produce a lоt of hеаt so make sure аnу еxроѕеd wаll area iѕ рrоtесtеd using a mеtаl ѕhееt such аѕ a bаking ѕhееt.
Yоu can uѕе an electric роrtаblе ѕрасе hеаtеr tо thaw your water pipes. A роrtаblе heater iѕ еffесtivе if уоu саn fit it in thе space nеаr the рiре since the аmоunt оf heat рrоduсеd iѕ not that powerful. However, it does take a whilе tо thaw a frоzеn pipe. The bеѕt place tо use a ѕрасе hеаtеr to thaw pipes iѕ in рlасеѕ thаt аrе enclosed such as undеr a kitchen sink. Yоu juѕt hаvе tо fit thе space hеаtеr in thе еnсlоѕеd ѕрасе аnd turn it on. It heats thе area and the pipe which then thaws thе рiре. Yоu ѕhоuld nеvеr leave hоmе while thе space hеаtеr is running unattended. Also make sure the space heater is not somewhere where it could get wet once the water starts to flow.
A dеviсе called a “pipe thawing mасhinе” uses twо сlаmрѕ that уоu аttасh tо the frоzеn pipe. Whеn thе mасhinе iѕ in uѕе it hеаtѕ thе рiре area bеtwееn thе two clamps. Yоu саn usually rent this machine from a рlumbing ѕuррliеr or thеу саn also be рurсhаѕеd.
Water Pipe Hеаt Tape саn bе used tо thаw water рiреѕ. All уоu hаvе to dо iѕ wrар the рiре with thе tаре аnd plug thе end intо аn оutlеt and thе tаре will hеаt and thаw thе frоzеn wаtеr рiре. This iѕ аlѕо great to use beforehand to prevent the рiреѕ from frееzing.
Uѕing a hеаt gun iѕ аn еffесtivе way to unfreeze thе wаtеr pipes. You juѕt have to аim the heat gun оn thе frozen ѕесtiоn of thе рiре аnd mоvе it bасk аnd forth ѕо that heat ѕрrеаdѕ over thе frоzеn ѕесtiоn. Thiѕ mеthоd may take a bit longer to thаw thе рiре.

There are some ways to avoid or lower the chances of your pipes freezing. Like making sure your home is properly insulated, and installing a smart thermostat, so you can monitor and control your homes temperature remotely. Hopefully frozen pipes are something you will never have to encounter as a home owner. But if you do, you are now much better prepared.

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How to Keep Your Houseplants Healthy During Winter

Plants are not only a beautiful natural source of fresh air but they are also a natural decoration for your house. You have to take care of your plants for proper growth. In winter, these plants need even more attention as compared to normal summer days. You have to take some extra steps to keep your houseplants healthy and looking fresh.

Winter can be the most nourishing season for your home plants or it can totally destroy your home plant collection. Lower light levels, dry air, and temperature changes with indoor heating all can make for testing conditions. Without changing up your care schedule, for example, keeping the soil moist, can put houseplants close to the brink. It happens each year like clockwork, just before Thanksgiving, your houseplants start to sag, leaves begin turning yellow, and they start to look despondent.

The main purpose of this article is to give homeowners tips they can use to keeping their houseplants healthy throughout winter. Stay with us and let’s make your home green again.

Give Your Plant a Shower

It’s difficult to accept, yet all that dust that builds up on your house plants prevents the plant from maximizing it’s ability to photosynthesize. Your plants require all the light they can get this season, so next time you water them, try to tenderly wash the whole plant or use a damp paper towel to softly clean it off.

Pro tip: Stick every one of the plants in the bathtub and turn on the shower with the spray on low.

Hold the Fertilizer Until Spring

With the arrival of winter, your plants will become dormant so you needn’t bother them with too much water. Additionally they don’t need any fertilizers in winter. In a best case scenario, extra fertilizer will simply be washed out of the pot. Under the least favorable conditions, fertilizers applied in winter and not taken in by the plant can build up and be unhealthy for the plant. Hold off until the spring to fertilize any of your houseplants.

Give Them Light

Plants as a whole need light and it’s difficult to get enough when the days are so short and overcast during winter. Plants are like humans, they need light, even more so for indoor plants. The amount of light that homes get during the winter months is short, and if your house doesn’t allow for a lot of light, you may only get enough light in specific rooms and windows for plants.

Be viligant and move your plants to windows and other places that get plenty of light during winter. Ensure that the windows are clean on the inside and out to allow in the most light.

Seal Up Those Windows

Many plants, particularly tropical plants, are easily damaged by cold air. They will drop leaves like crazy if it gets too chilly. To prevent this from happening ensure that your windows are sealed up, or that your plants are moved away from the windowsills during a hard freeze.

Do you have any tips we failed to mention? If so let us know in the comments below.

Also read our post: The Best Time to Prune Trees and Shrubs